Bold and bright and REDS all over

Let's say hello, again, to a good old friend this week as we pull the cor ... er, unscrew the sturdy Stelvin screw cap on a bottle of Laurel Glen's California "REDS," a great-value favorite that I've been following since its inauguration in 1994.

Over the years, wine maker Patrick Campbell has tinkered with the formula of this hearty, affordable red. He has undertaken changes from year to year in grape varieties, fruit sources and wine-making style, all without ever losing sight of its fundamental premise: It's an old-fashioned California red "field blend" that brings together inspiration from California and the Mediterranean in a sort of vinous mashup of the Old World and the New.

It is almost always a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and the Rhone-style varieties Carignan and Syrah. In recent years its sourcing has moved from a wide geographical blend of old California vineyards to Lodi in the Sacramento Delta, a rising wine region that Campbell calls "The California Heartland."

In all honesty I wish it could have been a degree or two less than its 14.5 percent alcohol, not because it tasted harsh or unbalanced but simply because high-alcohol wines tend to discourage me from enjoying a second glass after dinner. Unfortunately, this is probably an impossible dream in modern wines from California, or the South of Europe, where warmer summers and modern wine-making methods make it difficult not to get high alcohol out of ripe grapes without resorting to chemistry-set techniques, an approach that I don't see as likely from Laurel Glen.

But I can live with that for a wine this good at a price this fair. Two thumbs up!

Today's Sponsor

Top Three Reasons to Shop The California Wine Club's Spring Wine Sale:

1. $1 Shipping! Half, full and mixed cases all ship for $1. Save $36 in shipping on every case.

2. Big Savings! Save up to 61% off retail prices. Prices as low as $9/bottle.

* Award-winning, limited-production wines from California's best "mom & pop" wineries. These wines typically cannot be found outside their wineries.
* Limited-production wines from "mom & pop" wineries around the world that have been imported directly by CWC and cannot be found anywhere else in the U.S.
* California's most coveted 90+ rated wines.
* Premium Napa Valley Cabernets, aged 8-12 years.

Today's Tasting Report

Laurel Glen 2008 Reds Lodi California Red Wine ($10.99)

Dark purple, shading to a clear garnet edge. Good red and black berry aromas signal the Zin, with that pleasant, clean earthy nature that has long set Reds apart. I find this one a bit more balanced between fruit and earth than the 2007 "fruit bomb," and while I understand that both approaches have their fans, this one suits me just fine. Good, tart fresh-fruit acidity makes it food-friendly, and it carries its 14.5% alcohol level just fine. (Feb. 20, 2011)

VALUE: It's hard to find a better value in the neighborhood of 10 bucks.

WHEN TO DRINK: I like Zinfandel-based wines when they're young and fresh, but the sturdy Stelvin-brand metal screwcap will certainly help hold it drinkable for several years. On the other hand, why wait?

Talk About Wine Online

If you have questions, comments or ideas to share about today's article or wine in general, you're always welcome to drop by our online WineLovers Discussion Group, the Internet's first and still the most civil online community. To find our forums, click: http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village

Discussions are open for public viewing, but you must register to post. Registration is free and easy; we ask only that you join following our Real Names Real Format system, using your real name in the format "John Doe" or "John D". Anonymous, cryptic or first-name-only registrations are discarded without notice.

Once your registration has been approved, which usually happens quickly, you'll be able to participate in all our online wine, food and travel forums.

To contact me by E-mail, write wine@wineloverspage.com. I'll respond personally to the extent that time and volume permit.

Subscriptions and Administrivia

Unsubscribe:
We're sorry if you must leave us, but simply click the "unsubscribe"
link at the bottom of your Email edition to be instantly removed from the mailing list.

Change address:
The quickest and easiest way to change your Email address is simply to register anew, using the link below. If you are keeping your old address but no longer wish to get the Wine Advisor there, click the unsubscribe link below to take it off our list; if you are closing the mailbox, you needn't take any action, as our system will delete your old address as soon as the mail to your old address starts to "bounce."